Soil erosion, namely, the detachment of particles of soil and surficial sediments and rocks, is a serious problem recognized worldwide. Essentially, erosion occurs via the forces of wind and water that facilitate the movement of topsoil from one place to another. Of such forces, water erosion is generally considered more detrimental to soils both by the volume of soil removed, and the area of land influenced. Moreover, although soil erosion can potentially occur in any land surface, sloping areas mantled with soil or loose sediment are particularly susceptible to such forces. Indeed, current data seems to suggest that in the United States, soil has recently been eroded at about seventeen times the rate at which it forms. Further data suggests that soil erosion rates in Asia, Africa and South America are about twice as high as that in the United States.
Due to its significance, several attempts have been made to prevent or substantially reduce soil erosion. Among the more well-known of such methods include agricultural practices, such as contour farming and terracing, no-till cultivation, strip farming and polyvarietal cultivation. Other well-known approaches include adding organic matter to soil which, by biochemical degradation, produces polysaccharides that are cohesive in nature and act to cause soil particles to stick together and resist erosion. Along these lines, products have been introduced to provide at least temporary erosion control, particularly with respect to slopes and the like until such time as trees and vegetation can take root to resist erosion. Such products include bonded fiber matrices, such as Soil Guard(copyright) produced by Mat Inc., of Floodwood, Minn., which comprises a continuous layer of elongated fiber strands held together by a water-resistant bonding agent. Such product is operative to eliminate direct raindrop impact on soil and further includes high water-holding capacity that eventually biodegrades into plant nutrients.
Such products, however, are of limited effectiveness and often do not provide the degree of soil erosion resistance as is typically desired, particularly for use in relation to man-made slopes and terraces in arid regions, such as southern California and Arizona. Such lack of effectiveness can and does often affect residential and commercial property development where man-made slopes are developed to support such structures and the like. In this regard, inadequate soil erosion resistance can culminate in the destruction of condemnation of buildings and dwellings, as well as create substantial storm water pollution. Moreover, such matrices can inhibit new plant growth by acting as a barrier against proper germination.
Accordingly, there is a substantial need in the art for a composition and method that is operative to resist soil erosion to a much greater degree than prior art compositions and methods. There is further need in the art for such compositions and methods that are non-toxic, biodegradable, can be readily deployed utilizing existing, commercially-available application techniques, and acts to serve as a soil conditioner. Still further, there is a need in the art for such a composition and method that is of simple formulation, relatively inexpensive to produce, and utilizes known, commercially-available materials.
The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates the above-identified deficiencies in the art. In this regard, the present invention is directed to compositions and methods for eliminating or substantially reducing soil erosion. According to the preferred embodiment, the composition comprises either an aqueous mixture of an organic material, which may comprise cellulose, mulch or a combination seed and mulch and a hydrophilic polymer, the latter of which preferably comprises polyacrylamide or a mixture of polyacrylamide and sodium acrylate. Preferably, the polyacrylamide is provided with anionic functional groups. The soil erosion resisting composition may further be provided in the form of a reconstitutable powder or liquid concentrate comprised of the organic material mixed with polyacrylamide. In the latter embodiment, such composition is formulated such that the polyacrylamide is present in an amount ranging from 0.25 to 5% by weight of said composition and said organic base comprises the remaining 95.00 to 99.75% of the composition weight. To reconstitute the composition, the same is preferably mixed with water in a ratio of one pound organic base/polymer per one and one-half gallons of water to one pound organic matter/polymer to six gallons of water. In further refinements of the invention, the polymer component may comprise EarthGuard(copyright) soil-erosion resistant products produced by Terra Novo, Inc. of Bakersfield, Calif.
As to the methods of the present invention, the same essentially comprise providing an erosion-resistant composition of the aforementioned variety and applying the same to an area of land sought to be treated to consequently resist soil erosion. According to the preferred embodiment, the method comprises forming a first admixture of water and polymer, and thereafter adding the organic material to form a second admixture. The resultant admixture may be hydraulically applied, as per conventional soil erosion resistant compositions, such as bonded fiber matrix. Advantageously, the application of the compositions of the present invention are effective immediately upon application in resisting soil erosion and are non-toxic and biodegradable. Moreover, such methods can be practiced in any kind of weather and on any kind of soil, and is especially well-suited for use on slopes and the like.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide compositions and methods for resisting soil erosion that can resist soil erosion to a far greater degree than prior art compositions and methods, particularly in relation to slopes and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a composition and method for resisting soil erosion that is non-toxic, biodegradable and safe for the environment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a composition and method for resisting soil erosion that is of simple formulation, relatively inexpensive, and can be readily applied utilizing conventional application equipment and techniques.
Still further objects of the invention are to provide a composition and method for resisting soil erosion that is effective immediately upon application, can be applied in any type of weather, and can be utilized on virtually any type of soil.